Hearing Minos' comment, the two men looked at each other in surprise for a moment, as if one of them was asking the other's opinion. And as they did this for a moment, finally one of them decided to say something.
"Mr. Minos, have I misheard? Or are you suggesting that we join your army?" Eduard asked.
"Hmm, that's right, you didn't hear me wrong."
"That..." Eduard tried to say something but stopped halfway to look in Abby's direction like he was asking for help or something.
How could he refuse the invitation of the person who had just saved his life without pissing him off? Not to mention that despite being technically allies, Minos was still the strongest among this group...
And in a world like this, where strength is so critical, these two men naturally had great respect for Minos.
Consequently, they didn't want to explain to this young man about the workings of noble families...
Abby then smiled, remembering the behavior she and Eda had had at the time when Minos had made such an offer. It was tough not to find such a thing strange coming from this young man, as the first thing each of these people thought of in such a situation was the word, 'betrayal.'
"I think our families are probably not going to like this at all, Mr. Minos." Ernest commented, right after sighing briefly.
That Elena bodyguard didn't know about the fantastic things regarding the Dry City, other than the fact that Elen's trading partner hails from that region. But he could understand how rich the funds of present-day Black Plain must be, considering how well the Nash family's business with Minos' territory was doing.
"I disagree. I think your families would probably even appreciate it... Plus, in the future, I believe both the Nash family and the Neel family will strive to have their members as part of my army." Minos said confidently.
He intended to take the place of the Flaming Empire in the future when the Black Plain became independent and ruled the north of the Central Continent!
But Minos had no desire to create a great empire that would do away with all local political borders. Instead, as long as no one attacked him, he would only try to annex territories that were influenced by the Dry City's spiritual root recovery.
Otherwise, this young sovereign had no intention of unifying the region under a single organization.
He wanted to have his own state, which would be an influential place, but which does not involve itself in the internal affairs of other kingdoms.
He wanted to regulate the region's activities, as the Flaming Empire already did in some issues...
He didn't want to carry the weight of the entire northern part of the Central Continent on his back. Instead, he aspired to reap the benefits of a state in the position of influence on those influenced!
Minos then continued his explanation. "What I am offering is something your families cannot, and I am still willing to let you remain part of these organizations. Just as it would if you went to one of the sects of the Flaming Empire."
"I believe your families allow such a thing, right?"
"That... Well, that thing they truly allow, but..." Ernest was saying, but in the middle of his speech, he decided to shut up.
There was no advantage for him to say that the Black Plain was not in an advantageous position like the sects of that empire. That would only cause unnecessary friction, in this man's opinion.
"I understand your doubts. I had them myself before joining Minos' army." Abby finally started to speak as she felt young Stuart's hands around her waist. "Even though the Black Plain Army is a long way from achieving the prestige of the sects of the Flaming Empire, this organization has far greater potential than any regional family."
"In my opinion, while it is challenging for a royal family in our region to get one of their descendants to level 60, it is not difficult for the Minos' army!"
"And you know the strength of Minos. What do you think will happen when he reaches level 59?" She asked with a proud smile on her face, which was now without its previous mask.
Hearing such a question, these two men who continued to accompany Abby's beast, atop their mounts, could not help swallowing their saliva at the thought of Minos' terrifying strength. 'If he continues like this, then by the time he reaches level 59, he will already be invincible in this region!'
They had seen Minos fighting a level 50 cultivator as if he were in a game. Hence, they could feel that this young man hadn't fought with even half his powers, as he hadn't even used his highest level sword during most of the fight.
'Mick was not his ideal opponent... After just one blow, Minos had already given up on fighting seriously with that unfortunate!' Eduard thought to himself, remembering the previous fight.
"However, we are just subordinates. Even if we went to one of the Flaming Empire sects, we would still have to communicate and ask for the family's permission first. Otherwise, it would be as if we were abandoning the family." Ernest commented.
Hearing that, Minos smiled and looked to the side of Elena's bodyguard and said. "Don't worry. What about this? Let's wait until we get to the Dry City, and then you'll talk about it with Elena." He then turned to Eduard and continued. "The same for you and Elen."
"If they find it inappropriate, then we'll forget about it. Otherwise, we can simply say that you two are on missions ordered by those two. And when you have to go back to your families, there won't be any problem anymore!" Minos said as he felt the wind on his face and the sweet scent of Abby's hair.
Families in this region had no way of knowing if their subordinates had leveled up while they were away. So, even if Eduard had reached level 50 unless he went to the Nash family headquarters, his status would remain that of a level 49 bodyguard.
And as such, Elen had the power to send him wherever she wanted, even making that man stay months or a few years away from the family!
And although this is not common, hardly anyone would suspect that something was going wrong. But, on the other hand, it would also not be uncommon for a subordinate to take several years to rise from level 49 to 50.
Therefore, no one would suspect that a subordinate would quickly level up and not return to the family!
There were no advantages to doing this, as these people would gain a status boost after achieving such a feat, increasing their monthly earnings, family rights, and prestige.
For all that, Minos had made such a suggestion so that these two men would be more willing to join the Black Plain Army.
"Well, I think it would be nice if we disappeared for a while after what happened..."
"The Allen family will probably blame us for what happened and will try to chase us if we try to get back to Stone Island." Eduard began to speak while looking at Ernest.
He then looked at young Stuart and said. "Then I think we can do as Mr. Minos said. Let's go to the Dry City, and then we settle it there with Ms. Elen and Elena."
After that, Ernest agreed with what Eduard had said. Their situation really wouldn't be good if they returned to Stone Island. And in return, Minos was offering both of them a chance, something that could at the very least boost their cultivation strength and speed.
Even though Ernest didn't know the details of the Black Plain, this man, who appeared to be middle-aged, was aware that there shouldn't be many powerful cultivators on the side of Minos' army. Otherwise, this young man and those two women wouldn't try to hide so much!
And from that thought, he knew that with so many resources, people like him and Eduard, even if they were just going to be soldiers, would probably be more valued than they usually were in their respective families.
Anyway, after talking about this subject, time started to fly, and soon the group disappeared from that forest....
